wordy

adjective

ˈwər-dē 

wordier; wordiest

1

: using or containing many and usually too many words

2

: of or relating to words : verbal

wordily

ˈwər-də-lē 

adverb

wordiness

ˈwər-dē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• circuitous
• circumlocutory
• diffuse
• garrulous
• logorrheic
• long-winded
• pleonastic
• prolix
• rambling
• verbose
• windy

Choose the Right Synonym for wordy

wordy, verbose, prolix, diffuse mean using more words than necessary to express thought.

wordy may also imply loquaciousness or garrulity.

a wordy speech

verbose suggests a resulting dullness, obscurity, or lack of incisiveness or precision.

the verbose position papers

prolix suggests unreasonable and tedious dwelling on details.

habitually transformed brief anecdotes into prolix sagas

diffuse stresses lack of compactness and pointedness of style.

diffuse memoirs that are so many shaggy-dog stories

Examples of wordy in a Sentence

The original script was too wordy.

her writing style is far too wordy for my tastes

Recent Examples on the Web

In this grid, Mr. Enfinger suggests a wordier option: TOOK A SHOT AT. —Sam Corbin, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025

Chatty newsletters, wordy Substacks and quirky TikTok videos and Instagram stories rely more heavily on personality and emotion than do their TV and old-school print counterparts. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 6 Jan. 2025

Players said Bieniemy’s plays were wordy and hard to learn, and the results reflected those struggles. —Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2024

Compared to my last record, this project feels very wordy to me. —Kyle Denis, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wordy

adjective

ˈwərd-ē 

wordier; wordiest

: using or containing too many words

wordily

ˈwərd-ᵊl-ē 

adverb

wordiness

ˈwərd-ē-nəs 

noun